Despite the devastation left behind on May 18th, not everything in
the blast zone was destroyed. Areas that seemed like they would never recover have
surprised scientists with the resilience of nature. Many animals and plants who were
fortunate enough to be beneath the spring snowpack or underground, soon found their way
through the thick ash to the surface. Several lakes that were still frozen over went
virtually untouched even though all the life around them was decimated. One of the first
plants to reappear, appropriately enough, was the fireweed (pictured above). The presence
of plant life enticed deer and elk to return to the area. With their wanderings, they
stirred up even more ash, freeing seeds and shoots of plants still buried. Even
though there were over 1500 elk killed as a result of the eruption, the elk population had
returned threefold by the early 1990s thanks to mild winters, an abundance of food
on the debris avalanche, and the lack of human interference.

photo by Phil Carpenter, USGS

This is the remains of one of the Weyerhaeuser logging
camps. The spots of yellow are the remains of logging trucks that were tossed like
toys by the mudflow.

One of the hardest hit industries was logging. Weyerhaeuser lost
approximately 60,000 acres of trees. Logging camps, buildings and equipment were
also lost or damaged. Many of the trees near the mountain were a total loss but much
of the forest blown flat in the lateral blast could be saved. By November of 1982,
the Weyerhaeuser company had recovered enough blown down trees to build 85,000 three
bedroom homes. After the recovery came the daunting task of planting, by hand, more
than 18.4 million trees over 45,500 acres. Test plots showed that normal survival
and growth could be expected as long as the ash was scraped away so the seedlings roots
could be placed directly in the mineral rich soil below.

photo courtesy the Weyerhaeuser Company

Plants outside of the tree farms have had a
fairly easy time returning to the area. Millions of seeds are blown into the
devestated area from the surrounding forests. Erosion caused by wind and water freed
small plants that had been buried under the snow pack and droppings from the elk herds
contain seeds and vital nutrients, prompting other plants to grow. Alder and willow
trees grow easily in nutrient poor volcanic deposits and provide shelter for other plants.

The two pictures below were taken from the same place approximately
two years apart. From this perspective the mountain is off to the right.
Notice in the 1981 picture, the slope on the right hand side facing away from the mountain
was fairly well protected from the intense heat of the lateral blast.

Coldwater Valley Overlook in 1979

Coldwater Valley Overlook, Summer 1981

both photos above were taken by Jim Quiring, U.S.D.A.
Forest Service

While Mt. St. Helens may never be the same again, she's doing her
best to cover the scars. On August 26, 1982, Congress established the area around
the mountain as the Mt. St. Helens National
Volcanic Monument. An area of about 110,000 acres has been preserved so
it can heal without any human interference. While there have been several Visitor Centers
built along the new highway into the blast zone, guests are expected to leave the land as
they found it. In essence, the monument has become a living laboratory in which scientists
and the public can observe the amazing return of life to the area.

Lyn Topinka, USGS- October 1980

The only thing permanent is change.
Here at Mt. St. Helens the process of creation is never complete and we have the
opportunity to witness nature's power first hand.

It is important to remember that Mt. St. Helens
is still quite actively working to rebuild herself. Her sleep is fitful at best.
We can only watch and wait for Loo-Wit to sing again.

Lyn Topinka, USGS- September 1990

photo by Wayne and Dianne Heath
from Windy Ridge

The rivers ran thick with liquid earth and
mighty forests were brought to their knees. And the air was filled with the roar of a
thousand battles, the dust of a thousand armies.
Day turned to night. And in the blink of an eye, Mt. St. Helens, the brilliant southern
jewel of the Cascade crown, self destructed in a pyroclastic spasm of rage and fury. She
stands now in lopsided disfigurement- a curiosity, a burned out, blasted facsimile of her
former self. Yet if one looks carefully enough there is still a haunting echo of a
previous beauty- regal boned beneath scarred skin. Or is it a distant reflection of
something more disquieting? Is it the realization that having endured her cruel fate, deep
inside St. Helens an angry fire burns still?

-David Hoole, Washington the Beautiful

Pages designed May 1998 by Valerie A. Smith. Please send all
questions, comments and suggestions to valerie@olywa.netThank you to the USGS and other featured photographers. Without the photos, these
pages would not be possible.
This page last updated
June 06, 2006.